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'Community' recap: Zombies!

October 29, 2010 | 6:09
am

Oct. 31 is fast approaching, and you know what that means -– the obligatory Halloween episode (complete with Halloween credits). Last year, “Community” celebrated the Day of the Dead. This year? It’s the night of the living dead. So grab your giant hamster costume, be sure to try some of the dean’s delicious Halloween Hash and crank up the ABBA. It’s going to be a ghoulish night, with Sulu (George Takei) at the helm.

Suddenly, Pierce and a whole lot of others aren’t looking so hot. In fact, you could say they’re looking an awful lot like they just stalked out of the video for “Thriller.” Enter Troy and Abed: “Holy crap! Leonard’s a zombie!” Leave it to the Comic-Con nerds to cause a zombie riot -– and is there any better soundtrack for a riot than “Dancing Queen”?

Meanwhile, our Greendalers aren’t having the time of their lives. They’ve barricaded themselves in the study room, safe for the moment from zombies. Or are they? A desperate plan is hatched -– lower the thermostat and the chomp-happy zombies will go back to being normal Greendale students. They make a run for it, saluting a few classic genre plot points along the way, plus a nod to a memorable scene in "The Empire Strikes Back.” Confession time: I'm not a horror fan -- too much of a scaredy-cat. I did catch some of the references, but what did I miss?

In the end, Troy (“Prepare to meet the power of imagination!”) saves the day, the Men in Black show up and monkey with people’s memories (a mass rufie?) and Jeff is still cool, even as a zombie.

In the glut of Halloween episodes I’ve watched in the last week, this one stands out. Zombies, ABBA and Peggy Fleming: How can you go wrong?

Extra credit: There might’ve been a memory wipe, but Troy’s got proof on his cellphone, courtesy of a breathless, bragging Chang: “Shirley and I totally did it.”